CAMPAIGN
TO STOP SECRET TRIALS IN
CANADA
- Five
Muslim men have been held, as of December 2006, a
collective total of 273 months in Canadian prisons,
much of it in solitary confinement, without charge,
without bail, on secret "evidence" which neither they
nor their lawyers are allowed to see. They are men
with wives and children they cannot touch or hug. None
has ever been convicted of any criminal offence in
Canada. Welcome to Canada's own Guantanamo
Bay.
- While
we rejoice at the February 18, 2005 release of Adil
Charkaoui on bail, and the May 23, 2006 decision to
grant bail to Mohamed Harkat under even more
restrictive house arrest conditions, we recognize that
they, like the other three men, must continue to face
the use of secret evidence, and the ever-present
threat of Canada's determination to carry out their
deportation to
torture.
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-
- *******QUICK
LINKS: THE BASIC INFORMATION YOU NEED TO GET AN OVERVIEW
OF SECRET TRIALS IN CANADA*******
- SIGN
ON TO STOP SECRET TRIALS IN
CANADA
- BACKGROUNDER
ON DEPORTATION TO TORTURE
-
- Statement
to End Secret Trials: Download this statement, gather
signatures, return it to us to present in
Ottawa
- CONTRIBUTING
TO THE COSTS OF THE CAMPAIGN: If you would like to
financially support our work, you can make a cheque out
to Homes not Bombs and send it to PO Box 73620, 509 St.
Clair Ave. West, Toronto, ON M6C 1C0. Thank
you!
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"First
they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because
I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I
didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for
the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a
Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there
was no one left to speak up for me." - Pastor Martin
Niemoller, 1945, Germany
"A
time comes when silence is betrayal. We are called to speak
for the weak, for the voiceless, for victims of our nation
and for those it calls enemy, for no document from human
hands can make these humans any less our brothers and
sisters." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
RELATED
LINKS:
Justice
for Adil Charkoui Coalition website,
Montreal
(www.adilinfo.org)
Justice
for Mohamed Harkat Coalition website,
Ottawa
(www.zerra.net/freemohamed)
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- Under
the CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) secret
trial "security" certificate, Canada's spy agency has
largely Muslim men or men of Middle Eastern or Arabic
background thrown behind bars, without charges or bail,
threatened with deportation to a country where they face
torture or execution. Neither they nor their lawyers are
allowed to see the "evidence" against them under the
blanket claim of "national security." There is no appeal
of the Federal Court ruling delivered by a CSIS-approved
judge. The Campaign to Stop Secret Trials in Canada
organizes court support, engages in research and
political action and tries to provide support for the
families of Canada's "disappeared." The campaign is
rooted in anti-racist principles, and explicitly condemns
Islamophobia, anti-semitism, and all related forms of
religious and political intolerance.
Top
of Page
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ARTICLES
ON THE SECRET TRIAL SECURITY CERTIFICATE and
POLITICAL EFFORTS TO STOP SECRET TRIALS IN
CANADA
-
- (Click
on the title of the article you wish to read and it will
open to a separate page. The most recent articles are
listed first. Canada's Secret Trial Five are Mohammad
Mahjoub (detained since June, 2000), Mahmoud Jaballah
(August 2001, following his acquittal on a first
certificate in 1999), Hassan Almrei (October, 2001),
Mohamed Harkat (December, 2002 - June, 2006, now under
house arrest) and Adil Charkaoui (May, 2003 - February
2005, now under house arrest).
-
-
- Statements
on the Hunger Strike from NDP, Ursula Franklin, Canadian
Labour Congress, Canadian Council for
Refugees
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-
- FEBRUARY
1 UPDATE: Families head to Ottawa in 11th-Hour Bid to
Save Loved Ones on Hunger Strike, Call the PMO Friday at
11 am
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-
- "We
are slowly dying in here..."; Weekend Scare Underscores
Very Real Danger of Sudden Death for Hunger Striking
Detainees at Canada's Guantanamo North; Still No Medical
Monitoring After Two Months Without Food, January 30,
2007
-
- Stockwell
Day Visits "Guantanamo North" Prison in Kingston,
But
- Refuses
To Speak with Detainees, January 26,
2007
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- 70
Health Care Professionals Call on Stockwell Day to
Intervene and Negotiate to End Hunger Strike, January 23,
2007
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-
- A
Flowering of Resistance: Cross-Country Days of Action
Call for Closing of Guantanamo North; Punishing Hunger
Strike Continues, January 16, 2007
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- Open
Letter from Gitmo North; Hunger Strike Update, January 8,
2007
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- Secret
Trial Detainee Mahmoud Jaballah's Indefinite Detention
Continues as Bail Hearing Suspended, December 20,
2006
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- Hunger
Strike at Canada's Guantanamo Bay: December 15, 2006
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- Decision
to Deport Secret Trial Detainee Mohammad Mahjoub to Egypt
Found to be "Flawed, Perverse, Patently Unreasonable",
December 15, 2006
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-
- What
Happens if the Judge Makes Another Mistake? Startling
Confession of Judicial Error in Jaballah Security
Certificate Hearing Reveals Weaknesses of a Process
Already Condemned by Leading Human Rights
Organizations,
July
14, 2006
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- Support
Canada's Secret Trial Detainees, Three of Whom Have Been
on Hunger Strike For Over a Month at Guantanamo Bay North
in Kingston, Ontario, June 22, 2006
- National
Day to Close Canada's Guantanamo Bay North, June 26,
2006
- Reflections
from the Freedom Caravan and Camp Hope, June 3-15,
2006
- Freedom
Caravan, Camp Hope, Toronto to Ottawa, June 3-16. As the
Supreme Court Prepares to Hear the Case of Secret Trials
in Canada.
- Monte
Solberg Receives Torture Teach-in at his First Toronto
Appearance; Minister Responsible for Deportations to
Torture Refuses to Arrange Meeting with Friends, Families
of Canada's Secret Trial Detainees, March 20,
2006
- Federal
Court of Canada Gives the Green Light to Deportation to
Torture; Immigration Decision to Deport Mahmoud Jaballah
to Torture or Death Ruled "Lawful", March 16,
2006
- National
Activities Planned To End Secret Trials as Supreme Court
Prepares to Hear Cases of the Secret Trial Five
- From
the Court of Public Opinion, to the Court of Secret
Trials: A Reflection on Public Dissent and the Notion of
"Impartiality" in a secret hearing, February 7,
2006
- Where's
the Due Process, Mr. Volpe?, Jan. 14
2006
- Vote
Volpe, Vote Torture: Peaceful Info Pickets at Deportation
Minister's Campaign Office, Sat., Jan 7 & Sat., Jan
14, 1 pm
- Toronto
Police Name Santa A Security Threat ; Police Threaten
Arrests as They Block Access to Sidewalk in front of U.S.
Consulate During Xmas Eve Walk of Hope to Set the
Captives Free, Dec. 24,
2005
- Set
the Captives Free: Vigil and Walk of Hope, Sat., Dec. 24,
12 Noon, 277 Front St. West
- Canadian
Muslim Detainees Call for Release of Christian Peacemaker
Team Members in Iraq, December 3,
2005
- Refusing
to Hear Their Voices: October, 2005 Secret Trials
Update
- Canada
Defies United Nations and Paves the way to Deport Secret
Trial Detainee Mahmoud Jaballah to Torture in Egypt; New
Immigration Decision Violates Canada's Legal Obligation
NEVER to deport ANYONE to Torture, October 4,
2005
- Federal
Transfer of Detainees a Dangerous Sham to Detract From
Right to Bail, October 20, 2005
- Supreme
Court To Hear Hassan Almrei's Bail Application, October
20, 2005
- Measuring
Security Measures: Short films on immigration, media, law
and policy in a "secure"
Canada,
October
18,
2005
- Spies,
bureaucracy and torture: Two days in court with CSIS and
Charkaoui,
October
11, 2005
- Canada
Defies United Nations and Paves the way to Deport Secret
Trial Detainee Mahmoud Jaballah to Torture in
Egypt;
New
Immigration Decision Violates Canada's Legal Obligation
NEVER to deport ANYONE to Torture, October 4, 2005
- Mohammad
Mahjoub Ends Hunger Strike on Day 79; Secret Trial
Detainee "Wins" Most of his Demands, but at What Cost?
September 24, 2005
- Ontario
Government Refuses to Budge on Day 75 of Mohammad
Mahjoub's Hunger Strike, Sept. 19, 2005
- URGENT
ACTION: DAY 72 OF MAHJOUB HUNGER
STRIKE
- Urgent
Action Required to Save Life of Secret Trial Detainee
Mohammad Mahjoub, on Day 68 of a Hunger Strike in
Solitary Confinement
- "Oh,
now now...": Three Days of Emotional Personal Testimony
Mark Jaballah Bail Hearing in Toronto; CSIS Continues to
Make it Up As They Go Along, Claiming No Secret Trial
Detainee can "Ever" be released, September 9,
2005
- Urgent
Action Required to Save Life of Secret Trial Detainee
Mohammad Mahjoub, on Day 61 of a Hunger Strike in
Solitary Confinement
- Hassan
Almrei ends 73-day hunger strike on a hopeful note, but
Mohammad Mahjoub Still Starving, Sept 3, 2005
- September
3 Hunger Strike Update
- They
Try and Block Your Every Move: Mahmoud Jaballah Searches
For a Court to Hear His Plea for Bail After Four Years of
Detention Without Charge Punishing Hunger Strikes
Continue for Hassan Almrei (day 60) and Mohammad Mahjoub
(day 45), AUGUST 21, 2005
- Rituals,
Ceremony and Theatre : A Personal Account from the Land
of Secret Trials, August 1, 2005
- 40
Days Gone: Hassan Almrei Still on Hunger Strike from
Toronto Solitary Confinement Cell; Mohammad Mahjoub Also
Hunger Striking for Over Three Weeks, August 1,
2005
- "All
I Know is My Four Walls", Report from the Bail Hearing
for Secret Trial Detainee Hassan Almrei, July 27,
2005
- Only
in Canada: When Torture Becomes A Public Relations
Problem: Federal Government Admits It Doesn't Have Enough
Information to Even Lay a Criminal Charge Against Hassan
Almrei, Held Almost Four Years in Solitary Confinement
Without Charge or Bail on Secret "Evidence" Neither He
nor his Lawyer is Allowed to See, July 6, 2005
- Canada
Day in Solitary Confinement: Part 4: Hassan Almrei,
Almost Four Years in Solitary Confinement and Now on Day
13 of a Hunger Strike, Seeks Release on Bail; Alexandre
Trudeau, Naomi Klein, Avi Lewis and Heather Mallick Join
Hassan's Bail Community; Three Jail Guards Testify About
Hassan's Trustworthiness and Character, July 6,
2005
- THE
PROBLEM WITH TORTURE: NO ONE WILL BELIEVE YOU: A REPORT
BACK FROM 24 HOURS AGAINST TORTURE, JUNE 8,
2005
- Towards
a Society of Spies: Adil Charkaoui Update, June 1,
2005
- $1,000
Fines Proposed for CSIS Sit-in Arrestees; Bizarre JP
Eventually Reduces fine to $50, MAY 27, 2005
- Human
Contact is a Human Right: Secret Trial Detainees Demand
Contact Visits With their
Families
- 24
Hours Against Torture: A National Day of Action to Stop
Canadian Deportation to Torture, June
8-9
- Chasing
Down Justice and Seeking a Presumption of Innocence: An
April Report from the Campaign to Stop Secret Trials,
APRIL, 2005
- MAJOR
DEVELOPMENTS IN SECRET TRIAL CASES, MARCH 23, 2005:
Mahmoud Jaballah Wins Judicial Review on Deportation to
Torture; Security Certificate Upheld in case of Secret
Trial Detainee Mohamed Harkat; Bail Hearing Continues for
Secret Trial Detainee Mohammad Mahjoub; Security
Certificate Hearing for Secret Trial Detainee (now under
house arrest) Adil Charkaoui Suspended Pending new
Protection Decision; Hassan Almrei marks 41 Months, Six
Days in Solitary Confinement in Toronto Detention
Facility
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- Secret
Trial Detainee Hassan Almrei Wins Significant Court
Decision on Deportation to Torture in Syria, March 11,
2005
- Beginning
of the End for Secret Trial Security Certificates in
Canada, Report from Ottawa Lobby, March 8,
2005
- Charkaoui
liberation signals hope - but struggle far from
over,
February 17, 2005
- Secret
Trial Detainee Mohammad Mahjoub Wins Significant Court
Decision on Deportation to Torture in Egypt, January
31, 2005
- Update
on Secret Trial Detainee Adil Charkaoui: CSIS Destroys
Evidence as MPs offer Bail, January
2005
- Beautiful
New "Free the Secret Trial Five" T-Shirts now
available!
- YEAR-END
VIGIL TO STOP SECRET TRIALS DRAWS HEAVY SECURITY
PRESENCE, December 31, 2004
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- National
Day of Action to Stop Secret Trials in Canada, Friday,
December 10, 2004, Actions in Ottawa, Montreal,
Vancouver, Edmonton, Durham, Guelph, Toronto, and
beyond...(for
Toronto Details click HERE)
- RALLY
AGAINST SECRET TRIALS, OTTAWA, NOV. 8
- SIX
ARRESTS MADE AT CSIS AS SIT-IN DEMANDS SECRET EVIDENCE
BEING USED TO DETAIN CANADA'S SECRET TRIAL FIVE, Oct.
20, 2004
- LAWYERS
FROM ACROSS CANADA SPEAK OUT AGAINST SECRET TRIALS IN
OPEN LETTER TO ANNE MCLELLAN, OCTOBER 13,
2004
- When
Gandhi Met Hindy: A Toronto Imam and his Community
Take a Page from the Mahatma in pressing for Human
Rights in Canada, October 3,
2004
- MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 8, Constitutional Arguments About Security
Certificate in Charkaoui Case, Federal Court of
Appeal, Ottawa, Noon-Hour
Rally
- MAHJOUB
GETS A STAY OF DEPORTATION TO
TORTURE,
SEPTEMBER
8, 2004
- STOP
DEPORTATION OF MOHAMMAD MAHJOUB TO TORTURE, SEPTEMBER
3, 2004
- GETTING
CANADA OFF THE TORTURE TRAIN: JABALLAH CHALLENGES
DEPORTATION TO TORTURE, AUGUST 16,
2004
- SECRET
TRIAL DETAINEE ADIL CHARKAOUI DENIED CANADIAN
PROTECTION FROM TORTURE: AUGUST 19,
2004
- WHAT
ARE SECRET TRIALS AND SECURITY CERTIFICATES? AN
INTRODUCTORY PRIMER
- NEW
ESPERANZA FUND TO HELP FAMILIES OF CANADA'S SECRET
TRIAL FIVE, AUGUST, 2004
- WHAT
ARE SECRET TRIALS AND SECURITY CERTIFICATES? AN
INTRODUCTORY PRIMER, MAY,
2004
- AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL LETTER ON SECRET TRIALS IN CANADA, MARCH
31, 2004
- SEND
YOUR BROKEN AND INK-LESS PENS TO CANADA'S MINISTER OF
SECRET TRIALS AND DOMESTIC REPRESSION,ANNE
MCLELLAN
- Four
Years Behind Bars Without Charge or Bail: Secret
Trials Continue in the Land of Trickle-Down Democracy,
Mahjoub Bail Hearing, June 4,
2004
- Amnesty
Criticizes Canada, One Year in Prison for Charkaoui,
Other Campaign Updates, May 26,
2004
- "It's
the Canadian Justice System that's in Solitary
Confinement" Police Make Intimidation Arrest at
Peaceful Vigil as Demonstrators Demand "Bail, not
Jail" for Canada's Secret Trial Five, APRIL 3,
2004
- Anne
McLellan, Minister of Secret Trials, Refuses to Meet
with Families of Canada's Secret Trial Five, April 1,
2004
- Syrian
Refugee and Secret Trial Detainee Hassan Almrei Denied
Bail; Judge Finds Two and a Half Years of Solitary
Confinement "not unreasonable" and bases his decision
almost exclusively on secret evidence, MARCH 22,
2004
- MARCH
BREAK IN THE LAND OF SECRET TRIALS: CHILDREN OF SECRET
TRIAL DETAINEES PLAY "RING AROUND THE CSIS", March 15,
2004
- SECRET
TRIAL DETAINEE MAHMOUD JABALLAH DENIED BAIL; CANADA
TRIES TO DEPORT HIM TO TORTURE, MARCH 5,
2004
- Second
Canadian Details Torture in Syrian
Prison,
February 25, 2004
- BEHIND
RAZOR-WIRE: VISITING ADIL CHARKAOUI BEHIND BARS,
FEBRUARY 10, 2004
- BAIL
DENIED TO SECRET TRIAL DETAINEE ADIL CHARKAOUI, HELD
ON SECRET "EVIDENCE" WITHOUT CHARGE SINCE MAY, 2003,
IN MONTREAL, January 23,
2004
- Hassan
Almrei Awaits Bail Decision as he Marks 27 Months in
Solitary Confinement, January 19,
2004
- HASSAN
ALMREI WINS SHOES IN SIGNIFICANT COURT VICTORY,
DECEMBER 19, 2003
- HASSAN
ALMREI GRANTED A STAY OF DEPORTATION; BAIL HEARING
CONTINUES, NOVEMBER 28,
2003
- STOP
THE DEPORTATION OF HASSAN ALMREI TO TORTURE IN SYRIA:
ARAR SPEAKS OUT IN SUPPORT OF HASSAN, NOVEMBER 25,
2003
- HASSAN
ALMREI RELEASES AFFIDAVIT DETAILING HIS BACKGROUND,
NOVEMBER 24, 2003
- SECRET
TRIAL PRISONER HASSAN ALMREI ENDS HUNGER STRIKE AFTER
DAY 39 AS HE GETS HEAT IN HIS CELL AND GUARDS TESTIFY
ON HIS BEHALF. TAKE ACTION TO SUPPORT
HASSAN
- URGENT
ACTION: HASSAN ALMREI ON HUNGER
STRIKE,
DAY 37 (Nov. 4)
- JOIN
THE INTERNATIONAL RAMADAN SOLIDARITY FAST, OCT.
27-NOV. 26
- Protesters
Trick-or-Treat Across Canada as CSIS, RCMP Play Hide
and Don't Seek; 70-year-old Resisters Help Lead the
Way in 10 Cities During National Day of Action to Stop
Secret Trials in Canada; Five Arrested as Costumed
Crusaders Demand CSIS, RCMP Stop Terrorizing Canada's
Arabic, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim
Communities, October 31,
2003
- One
Month of Hassan's Hunger Strike: Report from the
Shoe-Off
- RALLY
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 11:45 AM, SOLIDARITY SHOE-OFF FOR
HASSAN MARKS ONE MONTH ON HUNGER
STRIKE
- Hungering
For Justice: From Solitary Confinement to the Streets
of Toronto. The Case of a Syrian Refugee Held Two
Years in Solitary Confinement in Toronto is very much
Linked to the Campaign to Transform Moss Park Armoury
into Non-Profit, Affordable Housing, October 7,
2003
- Toronto
Jewish Woman Begins Open-ended Yom Kippur Fast in
Support of Hunger-Striking Muslim Prisoner; Hassan
Almrei, held almost Two Years in Solitary Confinement,
now in 9th day of Hunger Strike Demanding Heat in His
Cell and an End to the Use of Secret Evidence Which
Keeps Him There, October 7,
2003
- Secret
Trial Prisoner Hassan Almrei on Hunger Strike; October
19 will Mark Two Years in Solitary Confinement,
October 5, 2003
- Open
letter to CSIS in Advance of the Halloween
Trick-or-Treat Action, September 25,
2003
- TRICK
OR TREAT! JOIN THE HALLOWEEN ACTION AT
CSIS!!!
- Prime
Minister Jean Chretien Refuses to Meet With Families
of Canada's Secret Trial Detainees, August 25,
2003
- Mohamed
Harkat Security Certificate Hearing: Lawyers, former
CSIS Witness Threatened with Prosecution and Lengthy
Jail Terms, July, 2003
- Canada
Day in Solitary Confinement: Reflections on the Bail
Hearing for Hassan Almrei in a Land of Secret Trials,
July 1, 2003
- Come
to Court to Support Hassan Almrei, June,
2003
- Walk
to Stop Secret Trials: CSIS Refuses To Accept Charter
of Rights and Freedoms at Completion of Three-Day
Trek, June, 2003
- "Security
Certificate" Issued Against Adil Charkaoui, May,
2003
- Welcome
to the Occupation: Machine-Gun Toting RCMP Occupy
Toronto Courthouse During Bail Hearing for Muslim Man
Who Has Never Been Charged or Convicted of ANY Crime.
A Report on the Bail Hearing for Muhammad Mahjoub, May
2003
- Federal
Court Rules Immigration Minister Abusive, That Mahmoud
Jaballah In Need of Protection from Deportation, and
Upholds Certificate on Undisclosed Old Evidence, May
2003
- Toronto's
Own Guantanamo Bay: An Abuse of Process Hearing to
Release Mahmoud Jaballah, April 11,
2003
- Press
Release Regarding Walk to End Racism, Repression and
War, July 2002
- July
20-26, 2002 Walk to End Racism, Repression and War
Faces Daily Surveillance, Threats of Arrest, and Acts
as A Magnet for some of the Horror Stories of Racism
Experienced Daily in Happy
Canada,
July
2002
- Poster
for Valentine's Day Walk for the Disappeared, February
2002
- Letter
to U.S. Consulate Regarding Freedom for Shakir Baloch,
February 13, 2002
- Walk
to Release Canada's Disappeared Press Release, January
2002
- Resisting
the Chill: Diary from Walk to Release Canada's
Disappeared, January 2002
- Flyers
for Walk to Release Canada's Disappeared, December
2001 - January
2002
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